“Mr. Watson, come here”: wh- questions in the past and ago

Q: How do you use ago in English?

Use ago after a length of time, counting back from now : ten years ago , two days ago , a long time ago . It goes with the past simple: I got my first phone five years ago. Don't put in in front of it: in five years ago is wrong. For a year or a date, use in or on instead: in 1876 , on March 10, 1876 .

Q: How do you use "how long ago" in a question?

How long ago asks how far back something happened , and a past simple question follows it: How long ago did you get your first phone? Answer with a length of time + ago : Ten years ago. When did you…? asks the same, but it can also take a year: In 2015. In the chat of “Mr. Watson, come here” , an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a grandma got her first phone about fifty years ago .

Q: How do you make wh- questions in the past simple?

Use question word + did + subject + base verb : Where did you go yesterday? Who did you call first? What did she say? Did stays the same for every person, and the verb after it goes back to its base form. With be , there is no did : Where was your first phone? The A2 lesson “Mr. Watson, come here” on edio.ai builds these questions around Bell's first telephone call.

Q: What are some examples of past simple wh- questions?

Typical examples start with What , When , Where , Who or How , then did : What did you do yesterday? When did it start? Where did he work? Who did she call? How did they talk? Questions about be drop did : How old were you? What was it? A good answer gives just the detail asked for: In Boston. Thomas Watson.

Q: What questions can you ask an older relative about the past?

Ask about firsts with When , Where , Who , What and How : When did you get your first phone? Where was it? Who did you call first? What did you talk about? How did you dial the numbers? Older relatives often answer with ago : About fifty years ago! In “Mr. Watson, come here” on edio.ai, students put these questions to a grandma in a chat.

Q: Is it "When did he make" or "When did he made"?

It's When did he make…? , because did already shows the past . The main verb stays in its base form: What did she say? , not What did she said? ; Where did you go? , not Where did you went? Don't drop did either: When he made the call? is not a correct question.

Q: What's the difference between ago and before?

Ago counts back from now, and before doesn't : I got my first phone ten years ago means ten years before today. Before needs another point in time: before 1876 , before the call , two days before the trip . So when you count from today, say ten years ago , not ten years before . The chat in the A2 lesson “Mr. Watson, come here” on edio.ai offers I got it five years before as a wrong reply.

Q: Is it "Where were you?" or "Where did you were?"

It's Where were you? , since questions with be skip did . Was or were follows the question word directly: Where was your first phone? Who was your first teacher? Every other verb needs did : Where did you live? Mixing the two, as in Where did you were? , is a common mistake at A2.

Q: How do I teach past simple wh- questions to A2 students?

Add a question word to a Did…? question students can already make: Did you call a friend? becomes Who did you call? Only the question word is new, so the order stays easy. Then practice the answers (a time with ago or in , a place, a person) and give the questions a purpose: an interview with a partner, or with an older relative, about a first phone.

Q: What's a good game for practicing wh- questions in the past?

An open-the-box interview works well: each box holds a question, such as Who did you call first? , or a role, such as Be an older relative! , and the student asks or answers on the spot. Finish with a report to the class: My partner got her first phone six years ago. This lesson's speaking chapter has these boxes, after a chat interview with a grandma.

A2 students learn wh- questions in the past simple, answered with ago or in and a year, in this ESL lesson plan.

Grammar: Question word + did + subject + base verb (When did Bell make his first call?), was and were with no did (Where was it?), and ago or in + year.
Topic: Alexander Graham Bell's first call, in Boston on March 10, 1876, and first phones then and now, with words like dial, party line and phone book.
Activities: Students read a museum notice, hear a video call and a voice message, drill question words, interview a grandma in a chat and answer wheel and box prompts.

What's inside

Chapter 1Ring, ring!
- PictureUnlock
- Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
- Study the words: phones then and nowVocabularyTry it
- Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock
Chapter 2Let's read: Mr. Watson, come here!
- Look at the picture: a workshop in the 1870sPictureUnlock
- Read the museum noticeReal-life documentTry it
- Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Let's listen: Grandpa's first phone
- Listen to Nora and Grandpa WaltListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
- Listen to Grandpa's ChallengeListeningUnlock
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: When did Bell call?
- Study the scheme: questions in the pastGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with question wordsFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the table: complete the questionsFill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the right question or answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Let's talk: interview time!
- Choose the right replies: interview your grandmaChatTry it
- Open a box and answer: interview time!Open the boxUnlock
Chapter 6Homework: Ahoy!
- Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
- Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: words from the lessonDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: interview questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Match the questions and the answersMatchUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: be or do in the pastFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Nora's post and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Drag the words into the gaps: a viewer's commentDrag and dropUnlock

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

relative
workshop
wire
notebook
dial
phone book
party line

Grammar: wh- questions in the past simple

Wh- questions in the past simple ask for details: a time, a place, a person. Built around Bell's first call in Boston, the lesson has learners put the question word in front of did, ask with was and were when the verb is be, and answer with ago, counting back from now, or in and a year.

When did Bell make his first call? – In 1876.

Ask about the past: question word + did + person + base verb. Answer with ago or in + year.

Question word + did + subject + base verb

The formula keeps one order: When + did + Bell + make + his first call? Did is the same for every person, and the verb after it stays in the base form: Who did you call first? Where did they go yesterday?

What / When / Where / Who / HowdidI / you / he / she / it / we / theybase verb…?

When did Bell make his first call?

Who did you call first?

Where did they go yesterday?

What, when, where, who and how

Each question word asks for one kind of answer: what a thing, when a time, where a place, who a person and how the way. So Who did he call? gets Thomas Watson, and How did you call people? gets With a round dial.

Word	It asks about…	Question and answer
What	a thing	What did Bell say? – “Mr. Watson, come here.”
When	a time	When did he make the call? – In 1876.
Where	a place	Where did he work? – In Boston.
Who	a person	Who did he call? – Thomas Watson.
How	the way	How did you call people? – With a round dial.

Did or was and were, for every person

The table sets the two patterns side by side, from I to they. With be, the question word goes straight before was or were, and there is no did: Where were you? Who was she? What was it?

Person	did + base verb	was / were
I	When did I call you?	Where was I?
you	When did you get your first phone?	Where were you?
he	Who did he call?	Where was he?
she	What did she say?	Who was she?
it	When did it start?	What was it?
we	Where did we go?	Where were we?
they	How did they talk?	Where were they?

Ago or in + a year

Ago counts back from today and comes after the time: ten years ago, two days ago, a long time ago. A year takes in: in 1876, in 2015. Never put in before ago: I got it five years ago, not in five years ago.

ago: count back from now

ten years ago
two days ago
a long time ago
I got my first phone five years ago.

in + a year

in 1876
in 1966
in 2015
Bell made his first call in 1876.

An interview with Grandpa

The interview examples put the forms together: When did you get your first phone? A long time ago. Where was it? On the kitchen wall. Students ask the same kind of questions in the speaking chapter, first in a chat with a grandma, then with a partner.

When did you get your first phone? – A long time ago.
Where was it? – On the kitchen wall.
Who did you call first? – My friend Joey.
How did Mrs. Baker hear you? – We had a party line!

After did: the base verb

did is already the past, so the verb after it doesn't change: When did he make the call? (Not: When did he made…?) With was and were, don't use did: Where were you? Who was she?

Common mistakes

When did he made the call?
When did he make the call?
did + base verb
When he made the call? Where you went?
When did he make the call? Where did you go?
question word + did + person + verb
I got my phone ten years before.
I got my phone ten years ago.
count back from now: ago
Bell called Watson in 1876 year.
Bell called Watson in 1876.
in + year, with no “year”

More lessons on this grammar: Past simple lessons and exercises · Questions lessons and exercises

Try the past simple wh- questions exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

16 auto-checked exercises
4 games
1 real-life document
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
2 audio clips
2 pictures
2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

ask about the past with a question word and did: Where did he work? What did Bell say?
keep the base verb after did: When did he make the call?, not When did he made…?
answer with ago or in + year: I got my first phone five years ago. Bell made his first call in 1876.
interview an older relative about a first phone: Where was it? Who did you call first?

Lesson 7 is the third lesson of American firsts in English A2.1 · Then and Now, and it brings the unit's interview task. It builds on A2.1 lesson 6, which asked Did…? questions, and on A1.2 lesson 10, where question words came before does. Subject questions such as Who invented it? follow in A2.2 lesson 8. Bell's call takes in 1876, while the learners' own first phones take ago, so the lesson needs both kinds of answer.

Students spin a wheel of phone questions, such as When did you get your first phone?, and learn ten words, from invent and workshop to dial and party line, with pictures and audio. They read a Boston museum notice on Bell's patent, his first call to Thomas Watson and the first phone book, then answer true-or-false and multiple-choice questions. Two AI-voiced listenings follow: Nora's video call with Grandpa Walt about his first phone, and his challenge for the cousins. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four exercises that check themselves, including a gap-fill of question words. To speak, students interview a grandma in a chat, then open boxes to interview a partner, one of them playing an older relative.

Homework is eight self-checking tasks: a word match, an anagram and a drag-and-drop for the new words, interview questions to put in order, questions to match with answers, gaps for was, were or did, and two texts with gaps, Nora's post about the interview and a viewer's comment.

Grammar:: wh- questions in the past · What / When / Where / Who / How did…? · Where were you? · ago · in + year
Topic:: Alexander Graham Bell · the telephone · Boston · party lines · first phones · interviews

Teaching tips

Let the class interview you first: students ask about your first phone, and you answer with ago and a place: I got it twenty years ago. It was in my bag.
Draw a line from 1876 to today: put Bell's call and the first phone book of 1878 on it, then add each student's first phone with ago: Ana got hers six years ago.
Pause the video call after each question: students guess Grandpa's answer before they hear it, then check: Where was it? On the kitchen wall.
Give the answers and let students find the questions: In 1876. In Boston. Thomas Watson. Pairs race to ask When did Bell make his first call? and the rest.

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The whole course: English A2.1 · Then and Now

32 lessons for adults at A2 in simple American English, from the past simple to going to, should and might. Eight units tell stories of journeys, American firsts, food, places, sports, music, neighbors and dreams. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

Unit 1 Amazing journeys
the past simple, regular and irregular verbs, negatives, prepositions of movement
Unit 2 American firsts
was and were, past questions and short answers, ago and in, could for past ability
1. Lesson 5The first American woman in spaceWas, were, there was and there were
2. Lesson 6A real bug in the computerPast simple questions with did
3. Lesson 7 · you're here“Mr. Watson, come here”Wh- questions in the past simple
4. Lesson 8Twelve seconds in the airCould and couldn't for past ability
Unit 3 American food
countable and uncountable nouns, comparatives, ordering food, a few and a little
Unit 4 City or country?
comparatives with more and less, superlatives, as … as, too and enough
Unit 5 Game on
play, go and do with sports, going to, adverbs of manner, reflexive pronouns
Unit 6 Music and nights out
love, enjoy and hate + -ing, the present continuous for plans, suggestions, to for purpose
Unit 7 Neighbors and community
much and many, should, something and everyone, because and so
Unit 8 Plans and dreams
verb + to, the present continuous vs going to, might, when, before and after

Questions about this lesson

How do you use ago in English?

Use ago after a length of time, counting back from now: ten years ago, two days ago, a long time ago. It goes with the past simple: I got my first phone five years ago. Don't put in in front of it: in five years ago is wrong. For a year or a date, use in or on instead: in 1876, on March 10, 1876.

How do you use "how long ago" in a question?

How long ago asks how far back something happened, and a past simple question follows it: How long ago did you get your first phone? Answer with a length of time + ago: Ten years ago. When did you…? asks the same, but it can also take a year: In 2015. In the chat of “Mr. Watson, come here”, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a grandma got her first phone about fifty years ago.

How do you make wh- questions in the past simple?

Use question word + did + subject + base verb: Where did you go yesterday? Who did you call first? What did she say? Did stays the same for every person, and the verb after it goes back to its base form. With be, there is no did: Where was your first phone? The A2 lesson “Mr. Watson, come here” on edio.ai builds these questions around Bell's first telephone call.

What are some examples of past simple wh- questions?

Typical examples start with What, When, Where, Who or How, then did: What did you do yesterday? When did it start? Where did he work? Who did she call? How did they talk? Questions about be drop did: How old were you? What was it? A good answer gives just the detail asked for: In Boston. Thomas Watson.

What questions can you ask an older relative about the past?

Ask about firsts with When, Where, Who, What and How: When did you get your first phone? Where was it? Who did you call first? What did you talk about? How did you dial the numbers? Older relatives often answer with ago: About fifty years ago! In “Mr. Watson, come here” on edio.ai, students put these questions to a grandma in a chat.

Is it "When did he make" or "When did he made"?

It's When did he make…?, because did already shows the past. The main verb stays in its base form: What did she say?, not What did she said?; Where did you go?, not Where did you went? Don't drop did either: When he made the call? is not a correct question.

What's the difference between ago and before?

Ago counts back from now, and before doesn't: I got my first phone ten years ago means ten years before today. Before needs another point in time: before 1876, before the call, two days before the trip. So when you count from today, say ten years ago, not ten years before. The chat in the A2 lesson “Mr. Watson, come here” on edio.ai offers I got it five years before as a wrong reply.

Is it "Where were you?" or "Where did you were?"

It's Where were you?, since questions with be skip did. Was or were follows the question word directly: Where was your first phone? Who was your first teacher? Every other verb needs did: Where did you live? Mixing the two, as in Where did you were?, is a common mistake at A2.

How do I teach past simple wh- questions to A2 students?

Add a question word to a Did…? question students can already make: Did you call a friend? becomes Who did you call? Only the question word is new, so the order stays easy. Then practice the answers (a time with ago or in, a place, a person) and give the questions a purpose: an interview with a partner, or with an older relative, about a first phone.

What's a good game for practicing wh- questions in the past?

An open-the-box interview works well: each box holds a question, such as Who did you call first?, or a role, such as Be an older relative!, and the student asks or answers on the spot. Finish with a report to the class: My partner got her first phone six years ago. This lesson's speaking chapter has these boxes, after a chat interview with a grandma.

Are there interactive exercises for past simple wh- questions?

Yes: question-word gap-fills and chat interviews check every answer at once. This page plays four parts of “Mr. Watson, come here”, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: the museum notice on Bell's first call, Nora's video call with Grandpa Walt about his first phone, a gap-fill of When, Where, Who, What and How, and a chat in which students interview a grandma. The rest of the lesson needs an account.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Vocabulary

Grammar: wh- questions in the past simple

Question word + did + subject + base verb

What, when, where, who and how

Did or was and were, for every person

Ago or in + a year

An interview with Grandpa

Common mistakes

Try the past simple wh- questions exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: English A2.1 · Then and Now

Unit 1 Amazing journeys

Unit 2 American firsts

Unit 3 American food

Unit 4 City or country?

Unit 5 Game on

Unit 6 Music and nights out

Unit 7 Neighbors and community

Unit 8 Plans and dreams

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students